Re: [Vo]:Earthquake in Japan damages nuclear reactor complex
http://www.iht.com/bin/print.php?id=6697593 "Tokyo Electric Power, which operates the nuclear plant near the city of Kashiwazaki, said it had found more than 50 problems had been caused by the earthquake Monday. Most were minor, but the most serious involved 100 drums of radioactive waste that fell over. The lids on some of them opened, the company said, and the contents spilled out." On 7/17/07, Horace Heffner <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: On Jul 17, 2007, at 1:12 PM, Horace Heffner wrote: > > On Jul 17, 2007, at 12:35 PM, Jed Rothwell wrote: > >> Horace Heffner wrote: >> >>> ABC news about an hour ago had a report that 200 drums worth of >>> radioactive material went into the sea. >> >> Really?! That can't be right. What is the URL? I may not be right about that. That's what I thought I heard. The TV was on in the background. I didn't think much about it at the time. I can't find anything like that on the web. Horace Heffner http://www.mtaonline.net/~hheffner/
Re: [Vo]:Earthquake in Japan damages nuclear reactor complex
I wrote: [The chimney appears] to be a heavy duty . . . It broke about 2/3rd of the way up and partially collapsed (stove-in). An incredible sight. The word I was looking for is "stove-piped" or telescoped. The upper portion of the chimney fell down on the lower portion, the way a telescope closes. Parts of it fell to the ground but the rest is hanging up there. Demolition might be a real problem! Most of the houses in the town that collapsed were old. Many were pre-WWII, some as old as 100 years, because the town was not bombed during the war. Many downtown were originally shops with living quarters overhead, so there were few beams or room dividers below. Modern structures survived better. Traditional Japanese architecture features open rooms with sliding screens between them, and a heavy roof. This is good for hot summer weather with no airconditioning, but in an earthquake it often collapses catastrophically. Most of the casualties in the 1923 Tokyo earthquake and the 1995 Kobe earthquake were caused by building collapsing and trapping people, followed by fires that burned out of control. Fortunately, there were no fires in this week's earthquake. Fires are less common than in the 1920s, because people use gas instead of charcoal, and the gas shuts off automatically. A repeat of the 1923 Tokyo quake (magnitude 8.3) would probably not kill anywhere near as many people. - Jed
Re: [Vo]:Earthquake in Japan damages nuclear reactor complex
On Jul 17, 2007, at 1:12 PM, Horace Heffner wrote: On Jul 17, 2007, at 12:35 PM, Jed Rothwell wrote: Horace Heffner wrote: ABC news about an hour ago had a report that 200 drums worth of radioactive material went into the sea. Really?! That can't be right. What is the URL? I may not be right about that. That's what I thought I heard. The TV was on in the background. I didn't think much about it at the time. I can't find anything like that on the web. Horace Heffner http://www.mtaonline.net/~hheffner/
Re: [Vo]:Earthquake in Japan damages nuclear reactor complex
On Jul 17, 2007, at 12:35 PM, Jed Rothwell wrote: Horace Heffner wrote: ABC news about an hour ago had a report that 200 drums worth of radioactive material went into the sea. Really?! That can't be right. What is the URL? No URL. It was a TV broadcast. Horace Heffner http://www.mtaonline.net/~hheffner/
Re: [Vo]:Earthquake in Japan damages nuclear reactor complex
Horace Heffner wrote: ABC news about an hour ago had a report that 200 drums worth of radioactive material went into the sea. Really?! That can't be right. What is the URL? This could just be the confusion typically found in reporting, or at least reporters. Perhaps they are confusing the report of slightly radioactive water flushed into the ocean with the report of the drum cans turning over. The facility is next to the ocean, as are many Japanese power plants. I assume they use ocean water for cooling. The facility has been shown on television and on-line news reports. I do not think anything could float away from it! On the other hand, a nearby railroad station which is described as "the closest to the ocean" in Japan is now mainly *in* the ocean. The cliff and retaining wall collapsed, and most of the station facility slid into the ocean. The Asahi newspaper just reported that the geological fault that gave rise to the earthquake runs directly under the Kashiwazaki plant. Reportedly, "questions are being raised" about "the prerequisites for construction" and "the wisdom of restarting the plant." I'll bet they are being raised! A little late, I would say, since it is the world's largest nuclear plant and they hardly throw it away now. Still, it survived pretty well, in my opinion. Alarmists are saying this proves that nuclear plants are vulnerable but I think you can make the opposite case. A coal-fired plant might be in much worse shape after a magnitude 6.5 earthquake. You cannot SCRAM a pile of burning coal. The news showed a large trash-disposal facility in the city nearby with high chimney, which I presume is used for incineration, although most trash is recycled these days. It appear to be a heavy duty chimney, very large and square shaped. It broke about 2/3rd of the way up and partially collapsed (stove-in). An incredible sight. - Jed
Re: [Vo]:Earthquake in Japan damages nuclear reactor complex
On Jul 17, 2007, at 6:32 AM, Jed Rothwell wrote: About 100 drum cans of low level rad-waste toppled over, because the bolts used to hold them in position were substandard. Some of the tops of drum cans came off, but there was no significant release of rad-waste into the environment. There are about 2000 drum cans of waste on site. ABC news about an hour ago had a report that 200 drums worth of radioactive material went into the sea. This could just be the confusion typically found in reporting, or at least reporters. Horace Heffner http://www.mtaonline.net/~hheffner/
Re: [Vo]:Earthquake in Japan damages nuclear reactor complex
Some of the details I translated have been reported by the AP in English: http://www.wral.com/news/national_world/world/story/1600223/ - Jed
Re: [Vo]:Earthquake in Japan damages nuclear reactor complex
The Mainichi Newspaper filed a report at 22:22 (9:22 a.m. EDT) describing the damage to the nuclear reactor in more detail. In Japanese: http://www.mainichi-msn.co.jp/today/news/20070718km040091000c.html They have now tallied 50 problems caused or probably by the earthquake. All 50 are listed in this article. Many are minor, such as an elevator that stopped working, filters knocked out of position, or puddles of water. Others are more serious. The most serious problem was the transformer fire that burned for 2 hours. They had difficulty extinguishing it because the firefighting water supply pipes and other equipment was damaged in the earthquake. The firefighting equipment was rated "C Class" -- the lowest standard of earthquake resistance. Other serious problems included: Small leaks of radioactive iodine and cobalt, in addition to the leak reported yesterday. (Yesterday's report was made several hours after plant officials were informed of the problem.) About 100 drum cans of low level rad-waste toppled over, because the bolts used to hold them in position were substandard. Some of the tops of drum cans came off, but there was no significant release of rad-waste into the environment. There are about 2000 drum cans of waste on site. 3 500 kV power lines disabled. Lubricating oil leaks. Main transformer oil leaks. - Jed
[Vo]:Earthquake in Japan damages nuclear reactor complex
A 6.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in Niigata, Japan today. The epicenter was in the Sea of Japan (which I think the Koreans call the Sea of Korea). The earthquake damaged the Kashiwazaki nuclear power plant facility. The nuclear reactor shut down automatically, but the damage caused a fire in the electrical transformer used to power the plant, which burned for two hours. Initially the Japanese government and the local power company reported there was no leakage of radioactive material, but CNN now says 315 gallons of slightly radioactive water leaked from the plant and the water is "believed" to have flushed into the Sea of Japan. See: http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/07/16/japan.quake.ap/index.html This is the world's largest nuclear power reactor complex 8,212 MW. What it is doing in the middle of nowhere in Niigata I cannot guess. For the past several months, Japanese reactor plant operators and government agencies have been caught in one of the worst scandals in recent decades. They have covered up many serious reactor accidents and radioactive leaks. Before that, they cover up the extent of the fire at the Monju breeder reactor, and the details of the Tokaimura nuclear accident, which was caused by such extraordinary incompetence -- such infuriating imbecility -- I would not have believed it possible in any first world nation. Given this track record, I would say that Japanese reactor operators have zero credibility and I would not be surprised to learn that hundreds of gallons of highly radioactive water were released into the grounds of the reactor and have now soaked into the surrounding communities. Unfortunately, most Japanese reporters are wusses, so we may never know. - Jed
